This time Vicki you've really jumped off the boat! This idiotic notion (I am not calling you an idiot, it is the concept that is idiotic) of "freedom loving, independent people [who] do not want to become dependent on government for anything" has taken root somehow and otherwise intelligent people are buying it. How did this happen?
The cold hard truth of it is that you are utterly dependent on government for almost everything you do - you have been for a long time and will continue to be as long as you live. Government - at the behest of the citizenry - provide the infrastructure that you depend on to travel, government provides you with reasonably safe streets, government secures the financial system that you depend on for your living, government insures that the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe are reasonably free of contaminants, and it does a reasonably good job of seeing that the buildings you enter, the bridges you cross, the cars you drive, the airplanes you fly are safe. Government does a reasonably good job of insuring that doctors, dentists, and nurses who care for you are qualified, that the pilots who fly you are competent, that the attorneys, accountants, and pharmacists who assist you know what they are doing, that the insurance, real estate, stockbrokers, and other financial services professionals are what they say they are. Government makes sure that you get the natural gas and electricity that you need to survive in this day and age delivered to you safely and reliably. Government provides you with an opportunity to choose who will govern by securing the voting process, insuring that the elections are held, that the winners get to take office and the losers have to leave office. Government insures that you will have access to education, access to health care, access to parks and libraries, and secures your right to the private property that you so cherish. Government - responding to the demands of its citizens - provides some assistance to people who have lost jobs, who have lost housing, who are infirm or aged, or who have serious disabilities. Relish your good fortune that you may not need this assistance but it is there - for now - if you should need it. I have only touched on some of the most obvious functions of government that most of us - and Vicki too - use often. The list is much, much longer but I think the point is made. I used to get angry - now I only get tired - of this selfish, cavalier, smug notion that one can be and should be free of "government" and that government is the enemy or at least something to be loathed. I will grant of course, that government is flawed, that is sometimes screws up, that it sometimes loses sight of the goal, that it can be petty, bureaucratic, and arrogant. And I always have to use the word "reasonable" because nothing that government does is successful all of the time. In fact, in this paragraph I could substitute the words "people" or "business" for government! So Vicki, go enjoy your independence, celebrate your freedom. Government will be there making sure you can do so! Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Victoria Heller Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 12:51 PM To: Mpls Forum Subject: [Mpls] Transit Modes Here is something to keep in mind as Listmembers fantasize about transit modes that you can't afford, at least for the next several years. A very large number of people, even in Minneapolis, do not want to become dependent on government - for anything. I'm included in this group because I find that government services cost way too much, end up hiring too many people with puffy paychecks and pensions, and ultimately offer inferior services compared to those found in the private sector. Keep in mind that we are paying more than ever to provide for our own security, buy palatable drinking water, provide an education for our children, and avoid the morass called "health care." This group of freedom loving, independent people prefer to go wherever they want, whenever they want to. They like to choose which retailer or restaurant gets their money. Some like to go to a Casino in the middle of the night. You get the picture. They don't like to be herded like cattle. Vicky Heller North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.6.9 - Release Date: 1/6/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.6.9 - Release Date: 1/6/2005 REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
